deercountry | (no subject)

Luke let out a vague grunt, as if to say he was the lucky one between them, before lifting the groceries up enough to drop them on the counter. He slipped his arms out from the bags, shaking feeling back into them as he spoke:

"Usagi was developing new powers when everyone's sense of direction was messed up. I think it's not just blood, but how that blood reacts to a person. The things I can do with telepathy now far outweigh what I could do before, but I haven't been able to do the things that she can, and I believe we share the same blood."

Luke moved to start emptying the contents, only to pause almost immediately at the mention of lightsaber katas. His ears even seemed to perk up like an excited puppy, not even caring that this was probably coming up because Savage spilled at how terribly he had done against the specter a couple months back.

"You'd... teach me?" he asked, trying not to sound hopeful and failing miserably. "I admit, I'm mostly self taught. The only real 'training' I got was from an undercover stormtrooper in a Hutt fighting pit -- long story."

He... may have rambled a little in his excitement.

Maul started to put away the groceries, still munching on the jerky as he did so. "The powers I now possess, oddly, resemble those of the Nightsister witches of Dathomir. My mother was the head of the tribe and knew how to do far more than I will ever understand." But now he had similar powers to what she possessed, at least in the realm of learning how to go into someone's mind and influence it for the better, as he'd done with Anakin.

It is a good thing Maul is familiar with the weirdness of his galaxy because the idea that Luke learned how to fight in a Hutt fighting pit from someone who was clearly not a Jedi or Sith didn't surprise the Zabrak at all. "You must tell me about that sometime."

His eyes lit up when it came to talking about lightsaber combat. Save for Obi-Wan, which he would almost never admit, Maul knew he was the most skilled duelist in the town. "I personally favor the most aggressive lightsaber form--" Surprise, surprise. "--But I am familiar with all seven forms. I can even teach you how to wield two lightsabers in combat or a saberstaff if you would like to learn." It was such a shame to discover that so much knowledge had been lost and Maul was determined not to let even more of it end up by the wayside. He seemed almost as eager to teach Luke as the young Jedi was to learn.

Nightsisters. Witches. Seven lightsaber forms. Saberstaffs?! The more Maul talked, the more it looked like Luke was going to drop what he was pulling out of the bags and drag Maul off to see what he could learn. He managed to reign himself back, just barely, but the excitement was still clear on his face.

"I've fought with two lightsabers before, but I probably wouldn't have done well if it weren't for the lightsabers I was borrowing," he admitted. "I... didn't know that saberstaffs were possible; how does that work?"

He was notably moving faster when it came to unpacking the groceries, hurrying to get the perishables into cold storage.

As eager as Luke was to learn, Maul was just as ready to share his knowledge with the young Jedi. He was very serious about making sure the knowledge of the past got passed on to him, at least the parts of it that would actually benefit Luke instead of holding him back.

Maul put away what he had in his hands into one of the cupboards, deciding right then and there was the perfect time for a demonstration. He took a few steps back so that he'd have enough room to at least turn it on and pulled his out from where it was strapped right at his waist. The hilt was extralong compared to regular lightsabers but otherwise it looked very similar. At least until he turned it on, going into his classic pose, showing that it truly was built more like a staff and meant to be fought using it as such instead of simply being a lightsaber with two ends like it was meant to be used as a sword. He flipped it around once or twice in a showy fashion, moves he'd never actually use in combat but that looked damn cool for merely a demonstration.

Then he turned it off and returned it to his waist. "It requires four kyber crystals, two for each end to balance out the amount of energy being put out. The design is a very old one that I found in a Sith holocron long ago. I adapted it for my own usage and it has served me well. Most Jedi know how to fight against blaster bolts and occasionally other lightsabers, but fighting against a saberstaff? It gives one the advantage, especially since I use my left hand most often for fighting." It made it twice as difficult because then whoever he was fighting had to contend with a reverse mirror image instead of the same stance and side that most lightsabers would have been on.

"The style of fighting with two lightsabers is called Jar'Kai. My master specialized in it for all that he usually disdains even wielding a lightsaber. He taught me well in how to use both blades at once." Maul unhooked the second lightsaber at his waist. This one had an angled dark-colored hilt unlike anything that a Jedi had made for centuries. He turned it on, revealing the curious design of the Darksaber. Even the hum from it was different from what other lightsabers made. "I earned this blade in combat on Mandalore and it has served as my second one for some time now."

Luke watched the whole display, transfixed, mouth slightly open in absolute awe. He just barely registered that apparently the Emperor was a capable enough fighter to be described as specialized in a style; he was too caught up in first the saber staff (a little saddened by the red blade, but not surprised) and then the strange, black blade that followed. He could feel the hum of the unusual lightsaber in his bones, and he felt a sudden, strong urge to wield it for himself.

It took almost dropping what was in his hands before he finally snapped out of it, fumbling to catch the item before it hit the floor. He shoved it away immediately, a faint blush coming to his face as he did the same with everything else that needed to go into cold storage, before finally turning back to Maul, nodding toward the outside.

“Well, I’m ready if you are,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

Maul wouldn't lie and say some part of his ego wasn't enjoying exactly the effect his words and actions at showing off his lightsabers was having on the young man. This was exactly what he'd been hoping for though it also drove home for him that Luke clearly knew so very little about the culture of both Jedi and Sith alike. Well, while that was disheartening, at least it wasn't something that couldn't be rectified by giving him the knowledge he sought.

Maul was more than ready to start teaching the young Jedi. Once they were outside and away from the house in the vast front yard, he took a few steps back from the Jedi and gestured to him. "Turn on your lightsaber. I want to see what your natural stance looks like." That would let him know how much work he was going to have to put into Luke, whether that was starting nearly completely from scratch, break him of some bad habits, or build on what he'd already learned.

While Luke was very excited, to the point where his energy was bubbling out through the Force enough to be felt for miles, the moment the lesson is clearly starting the energy becomes laser focused and intense. He immediately settles into his ready stance, whipping out his lightsaber with none of the flourish and flash of the Jedi of old. One moment he was standing there, the next he was ready to throw down like Maul was out for his blood.

If nothing else, it really drove home the fact that he grew up in the middle of war.

His feet were firmly planted at least, and it was clear he had picked up some variation of his father's form, even if he didn't know the names of the different forms. There was definitely a feel of being self taught, despite how sure he was in his stance.

Before he ever drew his own weapon, Maul circled Luke on silent feet, studying his stance, the way he was holding his weapon, and the way he was carrying his body.

After a few moments, he nodded, satisfied with his assessment. "I've seen worse," he proclaimed. He supposed Luke was working with the best he could do in an era where there was no proper Force-users to teach him how to wield such an elegant weapon.

"Let us begin the first lesson," He said as he draw out his saberstaff and ignited both blades again. Placing both hands on the long hilt, without another word, he attacked Luke as he swiped at Luke's midsection with the top blade. While he wasn't aiming to kill, he wasn't going to be going easy on the young Jedi either.

Luke tossed Maul a wry, amused smirk at his comment, but was immediately serious again as the other man drew that saberstaff. He allowed himself a breath, already feeling where the strike was going to be going, and he let the Force flow through him.

The Force may have been failing him in regards to telekinesis, but when it came to precognition, he was thriving more than he ever imagined he could. He could almost feel the possible movements Maul could make before they happened, before the other man could even think of them. It was a little startling, and almost threw him off at first, but he hid it by putting himself on the defensive, moving backward as he blocked Maul's attacks. It worked in his favor regardless, allowing him to see for himself just how a saberstaff was used, and potentially see how he could fight back against it.

As Maul fought Luke, he saw that the young Jedi seemed to be able to know what he was going to do before he even did it. Ah, the power of precognition. He recognized it because Maul himself had honed that power through long hours fighting with his master. It didn't always work perfectly for the Sith Lord, but when it did as it had when he'd been blinded for a lengthy period of time, it was invaluable. A good reminder to Maul that just because this Jedi hadn't been given the usual education of a Jedi in Maul's era didn't make him any less of one.

Maul had two advantages fighting with his double-bladed lightsaber: one was that he was using it as a staff against a weapon wielded more like a katana, which made it more difficult to counter, and the other was the fact his dominant hand was his left one, causing his opponents to fight a reverse-mirror image. He fought aggressively, favoring Juyo in terms of which lightsaber discipline he used most. There was no talking from him right now, his mindset having slipped into that of his old assassin persona. All that mattered was the fight.

Just when it seemed his moves were getting predictable, Maul flipped right over Luke's head, landing at his back. He sent up the saberstaff again, watching to see what the Jedi would do to counteract the move.

Maul was a fierce fighter, Luke would never be able to deny that. He definitely was far more trained and far more experienced than he was -- he could feel it every strike and every movement, whether it was the ones that were possible or the ones that actually happened. He kept up with him, of course, but he couldn't help but compare him to Vader -- Maul was quick where Vader was slow, would get in multiple blows to one of Vader's strong strikes. If it had been Maul that remained the Emperor's right hand man, it definitely would have been a lot harder to stop them.

He felt it when Maul was going to jump over him, saw where he was going to land, and decided that he had seen enough of how he fought. Luke let his foot slide as he ducked under him, shifting his stance and bringing his lightsaber up to where Maul was going to strike just as he landed. Both blades sparked loudly as they met, and Luke allows himself a small twitch up of his lip; a faint little smirk, as if he were asking, "Was that a good warm up?"

Luke shifted onto the attack at the next moment, green blade flashing with quick, brutal strikes, definitely indicative of him being used to fighting someone taller and stronger than Maul was. With having observed the other man's fighting style at first, he knew he favored his left, knew that he would take advantage of both blades, and he met the pace and rhythm of both of them as they traded blows.

Though Luke didn't know the names of the forms, or that there even were different saber forms, for someone with Maul's experience it was easy to see what he knew. What he was clearly trained in was the beginnings of Soresu -- not too surprising, considering he was more likely to encounter a blaster than a lightsaber while out in the galaxy, and the fact that Obi-Wan had been one of his masters. The other was Djem So, something he clearly had more training in, and must have come from the stormtrooper he mentioned, in addition to constantly fighting against his father.

Mixed in there was a third style though, a style that was coming from instinct, rather than actual instruction. The quick movements and strong hits spoke to Ataru, and it was clearly something he had never been taught, so much as absorbed. And yet he was striking out and blending it together with the other two as if he had been instructed in it his whole life, lending to the fact that his natural aptitude with a lightsaber was likely far beyond what anyone had expected in his time period.

Maul was taking notes as he traded blows with Luke. The young Jedi clearly had a piecemeal education, which wasn't surprising given the era he'd come from. He saw little glimpses of different styles as Luke matched him blow for blow. The ghost of Soresu in there definitely gave him mental pause and he knew on an instinctive level that was a result of Obi-Wan's teaching. He'd fought the man too many times not to be able to tell.

It looked like Luke and himself were both enjoying this bout. What the boy lacked in technical style he made up for in natural aptitude. He was beginning to see why his master might have taken an interest in the next generation of Skywalkers upon seeing Luke. Between the strength he had in the Force and the natural way he wielded it in all aspects, of course that power would have been like catnip to Sidious. He'd just clearly underestimated the amount of goodness in the boy. He'd apparently forgotten the lesson he'd learned with both Maul and Anakin: you had to start manipulating them young or they'd never would have obeyed him.

Maul could tell Luke was getting better at predicting his movements, so it was time to change things up again. He backed up, far enough out of the distance of Luke's lightsaber. One side of the saberstaff got turned off and Maul choked up his grip on it, clasping closer to the edge of the blade than before. He then drew out the Darksaber. Now with two lightsaber blades in his hands, he reengaged Luke again to see how he would fare against this new style of fighting. He went back into the fray with a literal leap.

His movements now were quick and his thrusts more aggressive, though the movements were still flowing from one to another like a graceful dance. Though Luke had never seen the Emperor use a lightsaber, there was still the clear ghost of Sidious in the Jar'Kai style that Maul was using. Though Sidious disdained using lightsabers for the most part, he hadn't been about to let his apprentice go out to do his bidding without being the best killer possible. To that end, he'd gotten Maul to imitate and learn his own favorite personal style of combat in using two lightsabers. Maul went from favoring his left hand with this style to going to being functionally ambidextrous, again something long years of training had taught him.

Luke really was enjoying himself. Master Yoda definitely would not have approved, and he could almost picture Ben showing up and folding his arms over his chest, shaking his head in disapproval from the sidelines, but he couldn’t help himself. Every fight he ever had with another person was a life or death thing — even training with Kreel had been for the sake of surviving in a coliseum fight with a massive creature in the end. Something like this, though, where they were not fighting to the death and could just go all out without having to worry about any massive stakes made this… fun.

He backed off as Maul did the same, sensing that things were about to change. Instead of pursuing him, he paced just out of range, giving his lightsaber an absent minded spin as he watched Maul pull out the Darksaber. He had tried Jar’Kai style once, using the lightsaber of a Rodian Jedi as well as his father’s, but he had been fairly certain that the only reason he survived was less because of his own skill and more because the weapons he had were very well made.

Now that he had more experience himself, he was fairly more confident in matching someone utilizing that style, and when the fight was re-engaged he again met Maul blow for blow, seemingly unbothered by the shift to being ambidextrous. As they fought though, there was a… feeling, almost like a familiarity that he couldn’t put his finger on. He never saw someone fight specifically like Maul was right now, but he still felt like he knew where this was coming from.

Luke had a lot of innate talent on his side and whatever skills he'd picked up. Maul had a lifetime of the knowledge that came with learning how to wield lightsabers and the innate fury that came from deep within. He and Luke kept circling around one another, fighting across the acre of land that surrounded Maul's home.

Maul kept the fight going long enough until he could see Skywalker's stamina begin to flag. This was just where Maul wanted him. Sidious had always taught him to wait for a Jedi to get tired and to the point where they might make a stupid mistake. All it took was a split second and then he could end their lives.

He saw his opportunity as soon as it presented itself. Nearby, Maul's warg Slicer was curled up like a giant fuzzy boulder, sleeping soundly despite the fight going on around him. Maul waited until they got close to his pet and then he whistled loudly. Slicer woke up with a snort and then with a loud snarl he went after Luke. As soon as Maul saw that he had an opening with the distraction, he kicked out at Luke's chest, holding back a little as he always did. His prosthetics were powerful enough that he could have crushed all the bones in someone's chest performing a move like that and he didn't need Anakin turning up on doorstep in a fury thinking he'd deliberately killed his son in what was supposed to be a friendly sparring match.

To his credit, Luke took the kick like a champ, letting out a grunt and falling back on impact. He hit the ground and rolled, something slipping out from some pocket in his clothes and thumping on the ground as he came around, looking for a moment like he was going to charge forward and keep the fight going.

He allowed himself a breath, realizing this was Maul’s way of ending the fight and grinning broadly. Instead of springing back up, Luke flopped over onto his back, landing splayed out on the ground with an exhausted, but exhilarated, laugh.

“I-I… I haven’t fought like that…” Luke began, trying to think, before he tossed his arms up and let them fall back to the ground like limp noodles. “Ever.”

"You did well for your first time against me," Maul said as he deactivated his sabers and clipped them back to his waist. He was smiling in a satisfied manner at how much fun the sparring match had been He didn't give out compliments lightly, so it showed how much respect Luke had garnered from him during their match.

Slicer nudged his head under Maul's arm until Maul gave him a vigorous rub across the top of his broad head. The warg looked pleased he'd done well in following Maul's orders, though he did keep casting a disdainful eye at the downed Jedi, never easy at letting people onto Maul's property for long.

"You have a lot of raw talent and an innate grasp of the weapon," Maul said, holding out his hand to help Luke up. He continued once Skywalker was back on his feet. "But that will only take you so far. To become a true master of the blade you will need to learn the different forms. Practice them until the styles become instinctive."

Luke accepted the hand up gratefully, bouncing up to his feet with a surprising amount of energy, given how spent he was. The exhaustion was clear on his face, but that didn’t keep him from being a bright beacon of sunshine and rainbows as he grinned up at him.

“Will you teach me?” he asked, betraying his eagerness to learn by continuing quickly, “If you’re worried about my father and Obi-Wan, I’ll talk to them, but I think they would both agree being able to learn from someone with your skill would be wise.”

And if they didn’t, he would talk them into it. It would be fine.

Maul nodded at the question, smiling a little. "I would be happy to." He found great satisfaction in teaching others, something that he had never thought possible when he first came to Deerington. But he had a natural aptitude for teaching pupils and enjoyed giving lessons. It helped that he also did everything completely opposite to what his own master had done in teaching him.

"Obi-Wan will be easier than your father. He knows well enough that you can make your own decisions. Anakin is another story. I don't want him coming here with lightsaber in hand snarling at me to leave his son alone." Maul could just picture it in his mind, the look of fury on his face as Skywalker was completely convinced he only wanted to manipulate or harm Luke. "But I have hope you can convince them."

“Don’t worry, I will,” Luke assured him, confident that if his father took issue with it, he could talk him down. Besides, it was his decision; his father was just going to have to understand that he was a grown man now, and not the child he was anticipating.

“When do you want to do this?” he asked eagerly, like they hadn’t just gone at each other like they were seriously fighting.

"Whenever you'd like. We'll start with some of the basic lightsaber katas. You've got a good base but it needs to be built upon. And I can see a few bad habits that you should be broken out of before they become too ingrained." His stamina could definitely be improved on given the young Jedi seemed to favor more aggressive movements as he fought.

As Maul moved, his prosthetic foot hit something there on the ground. "It appears you dropped something," Maul said as he knelt down. He realized it was another lightsaber. Did Luke wield two on a regular basis? He had mentioned about using two lightsabers before, so Maul wondered why he hadn't pulled it out during their sparring session.

When he picked up it up, the expression on his face changed for a moment. He didn't possess the rare gift of psychometry that some Jedi were capable of, but there was an echo in the Force when he touched the weapon nonetheless, a miasma that actually seemed to permeate right through the thick hilt. It reminded him of his own lightsaber, used so many times to cut down innocent victims and warriors alike. This one....it had been used by someone steeped very deep on the Dark Side.

Maul shivered for a moment before handing it back over to Luke. "Who did that lightsaber belong to?"

Luke paused when he heard the sound of metal hitting metal, only for his eyes to widen as Maul picked up the dropped lightsaber. He peered down at his boot where he had been hiding it, as if he couldn't believe it had fallen out, looked back up in time to give Maul a guilty look.

"It... was my father's," he answered softly, gingerly accepting the weapon back. It didn't bother him so much, so used to the feeling of Vader's presence that feeling it echo from his lightsaber didn't phase him. He stared down at the weapon, a faint, pained expression coming to his face, before he peered back up at Maul. "I... probably shouldn't have, but I grabbed it before..."

He let out a breath, shrugging helplessly. There needed to be a time when he actually talked to someone about what happened on the Death Star, but... he wasn't sure if he would ever be ready for that.

"He doesn't do things by halves, that one," Maul said softly. Powerful a Jedi as Anakin was, it was clear he would make just as powerful a Sith, especially with Sidious guiding him further down that path. For the first time, Maul was realizing just what a close thing it had been when Anakin fell here in Trench. Darth Vader could have massacred half the city before the remaining Force-users could have stopped him.

Still, Maul thought there might have been a good reason for Luke to hold onto his father's weapon. He nodded slowly at the Jedi's words. "I'd keep it. Balance out what your father did with what good you yourself might do with the lightsaber," he said. If anyone could disperse the feeling in the Force of all those Vader had cut down in his evilness, it would be his son.

"Has he ever done anything by halves?" Luke replied wryly, but still his hands curled around the saber, holding it close to himself. As used to the darkness that came from the weapon as he was -- so much like the looming presence of the man it once belonged to -- there was a different feeling there as well. It wasn't as strong, of course, and it didn't echo as repeatedly as the many deaths attached to the weapon, but it was there, and easily recognizable for what it was, if only because it had been specifically directed toward him.

"It's... not just my presence that can balance this out," he finally continued softly. "There's already some good attached to this weapon."

He hesitated a moment, clutching the lightsaber tighter as his eyes met Maul's.

"I think... I can show you," he offered. "If you want to see."

The implication that if Maul was okay with seeing it hung in his words, as if he were telling him without directly saying so that the Emperor would be involved with whatever he would see.

"No, I suppose not. He's dramatic like that," Maul said with a bit of snark. Really, Anakin seemed to thrive off of drama. Maul wondered if he'd ever been normal or always been this way.

The Zabrak thought hard about his answer. Anything to do with his master was always going to trigger him. That's just the way it was. Some mental scars could never be healed and that was one of them. But at the same time, he knew what Luke was going to show him couldn't hurt him. Palpatine was dead by everything he'd been told by people in the future. He couldn't hurt him.

A mere memory couldn't come after him, terrorize his adopted son like he'd done for so much of Maul's life. Perhaps facing this could help bring him some closure and remind him that Sidious could never touch him here in his new life in the city. He finally nodded to Luke. "Alright. I'll do it. Just don't mind my fear." Luke had already gotten a very small taste of it just from the brief flash of memory, the visceral reaction it had produced in Maul. This time he could control it better given he knew what was coming. The Sith Lord sat back down on the ground. This seemed best like something to be done when he wasn't standing up.

Luke nodded, completely understanding Maul's initial reluctance, and his response once he decided to go through with it. He took a deep breath, sitting down before him, setting down the lightsaber between them, before resting his hands on his knees.

He peered up at Maul, nodding to him, as if to assure him he would do his best to make sure everything would be okay, before he closed his eyes and reached out to the Force. It wrapped around them both, drawing their minds together with the same kind of ease as if he had reached out to hold his hand, before reaching down to the lightsaber.

Images flashed by as Luke worked to control what they were seeing -- images of people being killed again and again, both Jedi and normal sentients alike. Luke's voice started cutting through the images after a moment -- "You killed my father!" "You need to be more specific, I've killed many fathers." -- before settling for a moment on a long, brightly lit hallway from Luke's point of view. Outside, brilliant green trees rose from far below, and on either side were stormtroopers, escorting Luke.

And at the end of the hallway...

Suddenly, the way Luke had been fighting was made clear by the monstrosity that appeared in the boy's sight. The man was massive, much taller than the both of them, wearing a fearsome death's mask. It clearly served more than for needs of intimidation, as his hissing breath could be heard echoing through the hallway. The man's boots were heavy on the floor as he approached, and yet even as intimidating and overwhelming the man's presence was, Luke himself was calm as could be.

And the sensations coming from the man, echoed in the lightsaber -- excitement, determination and... grief, reluctance, and so much longing. It was clear through emotions alone that the crybaby that was currently at this place and the monstrosity before them was Anakin Skywalker.